The store shelves at the drug stores in my neighborhood are filled with Christmas candies, including the seasonal array of Russell Stover candies in Santa shapes. There’s a new one this year, the Russell Stover Red Velvet Santa in dark chocolate.
I have to say that I found the idea of a Red Velvet and Santa Claus combination intriguing. It seems like a natural fit and evokes the tactile elegance of a rich, deep red St. Nicholas coat and the traditional white ermine fur trim. But this was much better in my head than the actual execution. The wrapper doesn’t play upon that Victorian image, instead has a cartoon-style Santa on the front, holding a teddy bear.
I have very little experience with Red Velvet as a baked good. I’ve had the cake a few times, including several times baked from scratch as well as some high-end cupcakes. The cake is usually a buttermilk yellow cake with a dash of cocoa for light flavor along with either beets or loads of red food coloring. (Before the era of Dutched Cocoa, a little vinegar in the recipe would turn undutched cocoa deep red.) The selling point, for me, is the cream cheese frosting (but I usually satisfy that with a dense Carrot Cake sans nuts when given the chance).
In this case the candy is constructed of a cream center made from white chocolate (a lovely substitute for cream cheese) and actual Red Velvet cake mix according to the list of ingredients. (So this has wheat in it.)
The filling is a creamy red and a little grainy, probably because of the cake mix in there. It looks like it should be raspberry, but it’s not. The flavor is a little doughy, like a cookie dough bite, but better. The dark chocolate coating is just the right ratio - it’s not too thick or chalky and has a good, bittersweet counterpoint to the sweet center. It’s very filling.
If I had been given this lump (which doesn’t look like Santa, by the way) without any description, there is no way I could have guessed that this was a Red Velvet influenced object. I’m guessing it’s more like a cake pop (which I’ve never tried, either). I’m glad they went with dark chocolate and not white chocolate, but hypothesizing that it could have been worse is hardly a recommendation.
Related Candies
- Godiva Cake Truffles
- Candy Tease: Sweets & Snacks Expo 2012 - Part 2
- Cupcake Bites
- Russell Stover Santas
- Cookie Dough Bites
- Recipe: Peppermint Stick Layer Cake
just a note-the traditional original frosting for red velvet was NOT cream cheese icing. it was called ermine frosting, which is made slowly by mixing butter and sugar together. it has a habit of separating too, which adds to the frustration of making it, cream cheese frosting was later substituted because it was simpler. just an FYI,
http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Ermine-Frosting-(Butter-Roux-or-Boiled-milk-Frosting)/13589/
Personally, I’d have to rate this a couple of points higher. The texture of the filling is a little weird, but overall, I thought it was quite good.
Your red velvet santa is awful what in the world weer you thinking Will never buy again.
I just got a couple of those in the mail. And they are HORRIBLE! I’m one to eat anything, but the filling tastes like salted butter with sand in it. It’s horrible. And there is no way that the coating is “dark chocolate” as they said… it tastes more like “dark chocolate flavored butter”. I got two of those, ate one and I’m going to throw the other one out. It’s that bad!
Red Velvet Santas rocks. I prefer dark chocolate and I like red velvet any thing so this is my new favorite. I hope this is made in a “somewhat heart shape” for Valentine’s Day. Yum
I just ate the Red Velvet Easter Egg and it was awful. It literally tasted like there was soap mixed into the filling. I almost questioned whether I had accidentally bitten into a bar of soap instead of a nice candy.
I was VERY discouraged by their advertisment for this verses the actual candy itself.. The advertising on the package makes it look like it has cooked cake inside, when in actuality it is the cake BATTER… It is not cooked.. Your description of cookie dough is quite spot on.. It is not cooked at all.. And unfortunately the package is very deceiving..
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